Religion
Nothing symbolizes the supposed arbitrariness of religion to those predisposed towards skepticism towards religious belief than does the Catholic practice of eating fish on Fridays during the season of Lent. I’ll admit to having asked myself, especially on Good Friday, what connection there is between fish and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And then there…
Am I alone in finding the attitude expressed towards the Providence Rescue Mission expressed by “some members of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless” in Linda Borg‘s Saturday Projo article to be outrageous…Last night, Sean Carew greeted his guests the way he always does, with a firm handshake and a warm smile. Carew is…
Via (“beautifully put”) Andrew Stuttaford, from the Pub Philosopher (emphasis added): Having a history degree, she also knows that the world could not have been made in 4004 BC and she has studied enough science to know that much of what is written in the Bible cannot possibly be true. … We are drawn to…
After telling the Reformed University Fellowship that they wouldn’t be allowed on campus just, well, “because,” Brown University has had a change of heart. But they still haven’t been forthcoming as to why the RUF was banned in the first place. Yesterday, Ethan Wingfield, president of the Reformed University Fellowship, said he was pleased at…
Yesterday, I read in the ProJo about how Brown University had rather suspiciously banned an on-campus student evangelical group. Leaders of the group say they were given different reasons for the action. At first, they were told it was because their local sponsor, Trinity Presbyterian Church, had withdrawn its support, which it hadn’t. Then they…
{N.B. Cross-posted at Spinning Clio–MAC} Historian Ralph Luker points to a new book by Syracuse University professor Arthur C. Brooks called Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism. According to this story: When it comes to helping the needy, Brooks writes: “For too long, liberals have been claiming they are the most virtuous…
A piece by Bernard F. Sullivan in Tuesday’s Providence Journal brings to light an interesting paradox. On the one hand, it’s difficult to fathom that a man with such apparent deficiency in categorical comprehension could have ever been a regional editor for a major newspaper. On the other, his expressed concept of government enables insight…
It’s always an edifying experience when I remember to check in with Paul Cella: Now, it may be that some did predict divine vengeance [after the ostensible omission of God from the Constitution]. But divine vengeance, as it happens, is in fact a calamity somewhat mysterious in nature. I think even if I were a…
PROEM I submitted my response to URI student Gabriel Lugo’s hostile musings on American religion to the student paper of his school, The Good 5¢ Cigar, and Lugo (enlisting the help of a cowriter) replied a couple of weeks ago. Herewith, my further response. Cigar readers will have to forgive me; as a humbled father…
Pope John Paul II was elected Pope on this day in 1978. This posting contains links to many articles about him: John Paul II, Requiescat in pacem Two additional postings about Pope John Paul II: Follow Me: John Paul II Roused Us From a Lethargic Faith A Poignant Reflection on John Paul II
